Saturday, February 27, 2016

Town founder Nancy Kidwell sits in her office at the Cal-Nev-Ari Casino on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, in Cal-Nev-Ari. Kidwell, together with her late husband, Slim Kidwell acquired 640 acres of land under the federal Pittman Land Act in 1965.

Town founder Nancy Kidwell is seen sitting on the wing of a single engine plane as it is displayed in her office at the Cal-Nev-Ari Casino Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, in Cal-Nev-Ari. Kidwell, together with her late husband, Slim Kidwell acquired 640 acres of land, 70 miles south of Las Vegas under the federal Pittman Land Act in 1965.

CAL-NEV-ARI — In 1965, Slim and Nancy Kidwell touched down in the desert 70 miles south of Las Vegas to scratch out their dream: a town for pilots like them, complete with backyard hangars, a central airstrip and a fly-in casino.
Now Nancy Kidwell is looking for a way out of what she lovingly describes as "the trap" they built."It's time for someone else to do something with it," the 78-year-old said. "Fifty-one years is long enough."Kidwell is selling the town she helped build from nothing. She'll go on living there, just not as caretaker. Cal-Nev-Ari hit the market about six weeks ago. Asking price: $8 million.The sale includes just about everything: the dirt airstrip, restaurant, bar, convenience store, post office with ZIP Code, mobile home park, 10-room motel, RV park, and the casino, which has been open since 1968 with a non-restricted gaming license.The only things not offered are the town's roughly 350 residents, some privately owned homes, the small community center and a volunteer fire station built by Clark County after the original one "burned to the ground," Kidwell said.This probably sounds familiar. Cal-Nev-Ari has been for sale before.Back in 2010, Kidwell said she was trying to sell the place for $17 million, but nothing ever came of it. A few years before that, two land-poor developers got into a bidding war for the town, but both offers evaporated when "the bottom fell out" of the housing market, she said.This time around, Kidwell hired broker Fred Marik of Las Vegas Commercial and Business Sales to help her unload the town.Marik said the land is the big draw.Kidwell is selling a full square mile along U.S. Highway 95, and more than 500 empty acres are ready to be developed, he said. The Kidwells already did the hard stuff, building infrastructure and and bringing in utilities. The water system can draw from three wells and is only at about 20 percent of capacity."You're basically buying the land and the opportunity to grow something on it," he said.Based on a few of the inquiries Marik's received so far, prospective buyers see potential for a retirement community, a renewable energy project, a motorsports park, a dude ranch, a survival school, a shooting range or a "marijuana resort," assuming that sort of thing becomes legal some day.So how come the place is listed for $8 million when the asking price was double that just six years ago?"Reality," Marik said chuckle.

Dennis Layman stands by his single-engine Cessna plane as it is parked just outside the Cal-Nev-Ari Casino on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, in Cal-Nev-Ari. Layman flew from his home in Seligman, Ariz. to have breakfast at the small restaurant inside the casino.

A nice place to landDennis Layman flew into Cal-Nev-Ari Thursday morning for ham and eggs at the restaurant next to the air strip."I come out here every two or three weeks. It's a favorite stop," he said.The 68-year-old businessman from Eagle, Alaska, spends part of his winters in Seligman, Ariz., a straight shot by air about 100 miles east of Cal-Nev-Ari. When the mood strikes, he'll jump into his red 1956 Cessna 182 and fly to Needles or Kingman or Temple Bar for a cheap, no-frills airport meal, burning up $50 worth of fuel in process.Pilots with small planes do this."They call it the hundred-dollar hamburger," Layman said with a laugh. "You just have to forget about the cost."On a busy weekend, Kidwell said, there might be four or five single-engine aircraft parked along the white picket fence separating the taxiway from the restaurant parking lot.That's on top of the 15 or so airplanes based at Cal-Nev-Ari.Dale Schumacher isn't a pilot, but he has lived in the dusty little town since 1993. He moved there for cheap housing while working at a gold mine that used to operate in the area.He first rented a place from Kidwell and now owns two houses, living in one and sometimes renting the other or using it for storage."This is a super nice place to be," said the 66-year-old retiree as he sat on his ATV in front of the restaurant. "You've got the serenity. And you won't find a better tasting glass of water anywhere around.""Once in a while a dog gets loose,'' he said of the local crime rate, "and the town will get together to go out and find it."Schumacher said his monthly bills will probably go up and the quality of life in Cal-Nev-Ari might go down a little if the town sells. But no one blames Kidwell for wanting to slow down a little, he said."I can maybe remember two vacations she's taken,'' he said. "She deserves a rest."Kidwell said she works at least 10 hours a day, six days a week, looking after the town and her two dozen employees.She is Cal-Nev-Ari's primary landlord and only employer."Everybody in town who works, works for her," Marik said.Kidwell even handles security.When a pair of newspaper reporters from the city showed up Thursday morning, she quickly spotted them taking pictures by the town water tank and drove her Lincoln Town Car out to see what they were up to."You don't get away with much around here," she said.

Dennis Layman pilots his single-engine Cessna plane as he prepares to land at Kidwell Airport in Cal-Nev-Ari on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. Layman flew from his home in Seligman, Ariz. to have breakfast at the small restaurant inside the casino.

Arrivals and departuresKidwell was in her 20s when she met Slim in Southern California. She was a pilot looking to upgrade her rating. He was a flight instructor, 34 years older than her.By the time she was 28, she was living with Slim in a travel trailer on an empty patch of cactus and creosote where the spear point of Nevada narrows into California and Arizona.Two decades earlier the long-abandoned spot was an emergency airfield, part of Gen. George Patton's massive World War II military training complex in the Mojave Desert.To take ownership, the Kidwells had to prove to the government the land could be put to beneficial use, namely by developing a water source and using it to grow something."We hauled our own water from Davis Dam in 55-gallon drums until we had a well. It took about a year," Kidwell said. "If you want a taste of pioneering lifestyle, try living out here without anything in July, August and September."Their demonstration crop was 20 acres of Arabian barley they fenced themselves with railroad ties and barbed wire. Once it had grown enough to convince the government the land could be farmed, the Kidwells plowed the plants into the ground."We didn't have any way to harvest it," Kidwell said, looking at an old aerial photograph of the dense green rectangle. "It was a beautiful crop, I'll say that."Deed in hand, the couple set to work building their town. First came a mobile home park and a service station. Then came the Cal-Nev-Ari Casino, which they opened with a party on March 16, 1968.For a time, the couple capitalized on their fly-in casino concept with small-plane junkets out of Phoenix that promised "seven hours of fun." They also sold acre and half-acre plots to people who wanted a home and hangar of their own.The airstrip was renamed Kidwell Airport when Slim died in 1983.A decade later, she married a pilot named Ace, Slim's son from a prior relationship.They flew airplanes and ran the town together until his health began to fail. He died in 2011.Ace and Slim are buried at opposite sides of a tidy fenced plot in the median between the runway and the taxiway. There is a wide space between them to accommodate one last arrival."There's plenty of room for me," Kidwell said.But she has some more living to do first.Kidwell hasn't owned her own airplane since Ace got sick. She plans to use some of the town sale proceeds to buy something she can fly around in."Aviation is really responsible for what's happened in my life," she said. "I met my husband through aviation. Aviation is what brought me here. And aviation is really what kept me here."She also wants to travel."I've never seen Mount Rushmore or Yosemite. I've worked my whole life," she said. "I'd like to see some of the United States before I get too old and decrepit."And how does she plan to get to those places?"Oh, I'd fly," Kidwell said, smiling. "Driving takes too long."Story and photo gallery: http://www.reviewjournal.com

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) — An aircraft pilot escaped injury Saturday afternoon at San Jose’s Reid-Hillview Airport when the nose of his plane hit the runway upon landing, a fire department dispatcher said.Dispatchers got the first call reporting the crash at 1:59 p.m. at the airport located at 2500 Cunningham Ave.Only one person was on board what dispatchers and police said was a single engine experimental plane.Source: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.comA small plane crash was reported at Reid-Hillview Airport in Santa Clara County Saturday. There was one person on board, but officials say he refused medical treatment at the scene and is expected to be okay. It appears that the plane had trouble landing, and landed slightly on its nose. Fire trucks and police scrambled to the scene at shortly before 2 p.m. Source: http://www.nbcbayarea.com

From a real estate perspective, the recent leasing of the 6,000-square-foot Hangar 24 at Ormond Beach Municipal Airport is a small deal.From an economic development perspective, it could be the start of something big.The hangar's new tenant is a recently formed company called Super Petrel USA Inc., which describes itself as the exclusive North American distributor of a Brazilian-made line of amphibious light sport biplanes called Super Petrels.The company, whose principal partners are Port Orange businessman/commercial airline pilot Brian Boucher and two Brazilian businessmen, one of whom is the founder of Scoda Aeronautica, which manufactures the Super Petrel planes.Boucher's company only employs four workers locally for now, but he said the goal is to grow the business to include the addition of a final assembly plane manufacturing plant.The hangar at Ormond Beach airport is already used to assemble Brazilian-made components for Super Petrel planes, but what Boucher is envisioning would be a more full-blown manufacturing operation here.MANUFACTURING PLANT NEXT?"We want our employees to grow to at least 10 by 2017," he said, adding that while the plant could be located elsewhere, he has already had initial discussions with the city about the possibility of economic incentives to build it at the airport.Joe Mannarino, the city's economic development director, confirmed those talks, adding, "We've opened up new land, over 100 acres that could be used for light sport plane manufacturing (at the airport)."Boucher noted that another Brazilian sport plane maker, Paradise Aircraft, recently located its North American operations at the airport in Sebring, and that more companies from that South American country could also soon be making a beeline for the Sunshine State."The whole economic climate in Brazil is upside down, causing a lot of Brazilian companies to relocate," he said.The entire light sport plane industry is growing, with a number of plane makers from other countries looking to tap the North American market, he said.Considering the warm welcome his company has received from the city, and plenty of available land at Ormond Beach Municipal Airport, it's conceivable that some of those plane makers might also want to open operations here, he said."You could see sport plane companies come from Brazil, the Czech Republic, the Ukraine and Germany," he said.That's music to Mannarino's ears.AIRPORT PRIMED FOR GROWTHThe city has invested more than $7 million over the past five years on improvements to its airport to prepare for just such an opportunity, he said. Those improvements have included the addition of new taxiways, the installation of all-new lighting, a new heliport and plans to start infrastructure work on future development land at the 1,200-acre airport.In addition, the city also owns a 173-acre Airport Business Park immediately adjacent to the airport that's home to a number of companies that could provide services to light sport plane manufacturers, Mannarino said."Super Petrel will hopefully be our first (light sport plane manufacturer)," Mannarino said. "We will all be looking forward to their success and future investment."IN CASE YOU'RE WONDERINGWhen asked why Scoda Aeronautica's Super Petrel sport planes are biplanes, meaning they have two sets of wings, similar to the fighter planes used in World War I, David Kyrk, director of sales and marketing for Super Petrel USA Inc., said it's to provide "better slow-flight stability, better dynamic stability in turbulent air and it allows us to be more manueverable."Super Petrel planes weigh 770 pounds empty and can fly at a maximum weight of 1,320 pounds. They are light enough for a single person to push them out of a hangar on to an airport runway.The planes also use premium gasoline like one would use in cars and burn fuel at a rate of four gallons per hour.The retail price for Super Petrels start at $155,000 with the company's standard fuel-injected plane selling for $169,900.Original article can be found here: http://www.news-journalonline.com

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.The pilot reported that the engine began running roughly during cruise flight a few minutes after he switched the fuel selector from the left to the right main fuel tank. He initially switched back to the left main fuel tank, which still contained useable fuel, increased the mixture control to full rich, and turned on the high-boost auxiliary fuel pump. The engine continued to run roughly with occasional backfires and power surges. The pilot then selected the low-boost auxiliary fuel pump and changed back to the right main fuel tank, which contained significantly more fuel than the left main fuel tank. He reported that engine operation briefly improved, before it resumed producing partial power with occasional power surges. The pilot reported that he continued to select different fuel tanks, including the right wingtip tank that only had residual fuel available. Ultimately, the pilot selected the right main fuel tank and the engine continued to operate at partial power. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a nearby interstate highway. Shortly after touchdown, the pilot had to maneuver the airplane to avoid another vehicle and it subsequently entered the grass median separating the northbound and southbound lanes. The airplane’s left wing was substantially damaged when it impacted a grass embankment. A postaccident inspection of the airplane established that there was ample fuel remaining within each main wing fuel tank. The wingtip fuel tanks contained about a gallon of fuel each. Both auxiliary fuel pumps functioned normally when electrical power was applied. An operational engine test run was completed without any modifications to the airframe fuel system and using the fuel remaining in each main tank. The engine performed within its normal operating parameters throughout the engine test run and demonstrated the ability to produce maximum static rpm. Additionally, while at a cruise engine power setting, there was no interruption to engine operation while alternating between the right and left main fuel tanks. During the test run, the fuel selector handle was placed between the right and left main fuel tank positions to simulate an inadvertent misplacement of the fuel selector. Normal engine operation continued for about 30 seconds before there was a noticeable loss of engine power and an associated engine backfire from fuel starvation. The fuel selector was immediately repositioned to the right main fuel tank and normal engine operation was reestablished. Ultimately, the operational test run did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation. The airplane owner’s manual stipulates that when there is a loss of engine power, the auxiliary fuel pump should be used momentarily until engine power is regained. However, if engine operation does not improve within a few moments, the auxiliary fuel pump should be turned off. A flight manual supplement further stipulates that if a fuel tank becomes fully depleted, the low-boost auxiliary fuel pump should be turned on while changing fuel tanks; however, the auxiliary fuel pump should be turned off once the engine restarts. Additionally, the flight manual supplement cautions that operating with the high-boost auxiliary fuel pump turned on with a functioning engine-driven fuel pump can produce an over-rich fuel mixture and a partial or total loss of engine power. It is likely that the initial engine roughness was caused by the pilot improperly positioning the fuel selector handle between the left and right main fuel tanks, which resulted in a restricted fuel flow to the engine and the initial loss of engine power during cruise flight. After identifying the initial loss of engine power, the pilot likely repositioned the fuel selector handle to a fuel tank containing useable fuel; however, contrary to operational guidance, his continued to use the high-boost auxiliary fuel pump for an extended period, which likely resulted in an over-rich fuel mixture condition that prevented the engine from resuming normal operation.The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:The pilot's improper placement of the fuel selector handle between two tank positions, which resulted in a restricted fuel flow to the engine and the initial loss of engine power, and his improper decision to use the high-boost auxiliary fuel pump for an extended period, which resulted in an over-rich fuel mixture condition that prevented the engine from resuming normal operation.On February 27, 2016, about 1125 eastern standard time, a Beech model V35 single-engine airplane, N2714T, was substantially damaged during a forced landing on Interstate I65, near Seymour, Indiana. The private pilot and his two passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that departed Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport (UMP), Indianapolis, Indiana, about 1045, with the intended destination of Bowman Field Airport (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky.The pilot estimated that the airplane had departed with about 40 gallons of fuel for the planned 46 minute flight. He further estimated that, before departure, the right and left main fuel tanks contained about 30 gallons and 10 gallons, respectively. Both outboard tip tanks only contained residual fuel. After departure, the flight continued toward the planned destination and received visual flight rules (VFR) flight following from air traffic control (ATC). The pilot reported that he switched from the right main fuel tank to the left main fuel tank after reaching the final cruise altitude of 5,500 feet mean sea level (msl). After drawing fuel from the left main fuel tank for about 10 minutes, he switched back to the right main fuel tank as he prepared for his initial descent to the destination airport.The pilot reported that the engine began to run roughly after operating on the right main fuel tank for about 3 minutes. He switched back to the left main fuel tank, increased the mixture control to full rich, and turned on the high-boost auxiliary fuel pump. The engine continued to run roughly with occasional power surges. Additionally, the pilot reported that the engine would occasionally backfire, which was followed by a corresponding surge in engine power. The pilot then selected the low-boost auxiliary fuel pump and changed back to the right main fuel tank, which contained significantly more fuel than the left main fuel tank. He reported that engine operation briefly improved, over a 15-20 second period, before it resumed producing partial power with occasional power surges. The pilot reported that he continued to select different fuel tanks, including the right wingtip tank that only had residual fuel available. Ultimately, the pilot selected the right main fuel tank and the engine continued to operate at partial power for the remainder of the flight.Air traffic control initially provided radar vectors toward Freeman Municipal Airport (SER), located near Seymour, Indiana; however, the pilot subsequently determined that the airplane did not have enough altitude to reach the airport and made a forced landing to the southbound lanes of Interstate Highway I65, near mile marker 42. He reported that the airplane touched-down at about 80 knots indicated airspeed with the flaps fully extended. Shortly after touchdown, the pilot had to maneuver the airplane to avoid another vehicle and it subsequently entered the grass median separating the northbound and southbound lanes. The pilot reported that the airplane's left wing impacted a grass embankment after the airplane traversed into the median. The pilot reported that, following the accident, he moved the mixture control to the idle-cutoff position before he evacuated the airplane.The airplane was subsequently recovered from the interstate median to a hangar located at SER. A postaccident inspection, completed by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airworthiness Inspector, revealed substantial damage to the airplane's left wing aft spar. Further inspection established that there was ample fuel remaining within each main wing fuel tank. According to the airplane's fuel quantity indicators, the right main tank was about 3/4 full (about 30 gallons) and the left main tank was about 1/4 full. The pilot, under the supervision of the FAA inspector, drained 9 gallons of fuel from the left main fuel tank. A majority of the collected fuel was returned to the left main fuel tank. The left and right wingtip tanks contained about 1 gallon of fuel each and was considered residual fuel. Both auxiliary fuel pumps functioned normally when electrical power was applied.An operational engine test run was completed by the pilot under the direct supervision of the FAA Airworthiness Inspector. The engine was run on the airplane without any modifications to the airframe fuel system and using the remaining fuel in the main tanks (no fuel was added). The FAA inspector reported that the engine experienced a normal start and warm-up. The pilot noted that the engine idle speed decreased 100-200 rpm during the engine warm-up and that the engine ran rough for the first few minutes as the engine warmed-up; however, at no point did the engine run stop running. The FAA inspector reported there were no engine anomalies during a pretakeoff engine run-up, which included a magneto functional check and cycling of the propeller.The pilot indicated that the engine performed within its normal operating parameters throughout the engine test run. The only anomaly the pilot noted was a slight engine hesitation as he increased engine speed toward maximum static rpm; however, the engine subsequently demonstrated the ability to produce maximum static rpm. Additionally, while at a cruise engine power setting, there was no interruption to engine operation while the pilot alternated between the right and left main fuel tanks. To simulate an inadvertent fuel selector position during cruise flight, the fuel selector handle was placed between the right and left main fuel tank positions with the engine operating at a typical cruise power setting. Normal engine operation continued for about 30 seconds before there was a noticeable loss of engine power and an associated engine backfire from fuel starvation. The fuel selector was immediately repositioned to the right main fuel tank and normal engine operation was reestablished without any manipulation of the engine controls and/or activation of an auxiliary fuel boost pump. Ultimately, the operational test run did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the Continental model TSIO-520-DB7B engine.According to the airplane manufacturer, a turbo-charged engine, a separate low-boost auxiliary fuel pump, and wingtip fuel tanks were installed, in conformance with supplemental type certificates, at the factory during the original manufacture of the airplane. When equipped with a turbo-charged engine, the airplane is often referred as a Beech model V35TC. The original auxiliary fuel pump was designated as the "high-boost" when the low-boost auxiliary fuel pump was installed. The accident airplane was placarded against takeoffs with less than 13 gallons of fuel in each main tank; however, according to the airframe manufacturer, there is no prohibition against using all useable fuel from a main tank during the other phases of flight. The placarded fuel requirement for takeoff is to prevent a fuel tank outlet from unporting due to excessive fuel migration and sloshing that can be experienced during the takeoff phase.The Beech model V35TC Owner's Manual states that when there is a loss of engine power, the auxiliary fuel pump should be used momentarily until engine power is regained. However, if engine operation does not improve within a few moments, the auxiliary fuel pump should be turned off. The airplane flight manual supplement associated with the turbo-charged engine installation stipulates that if a fuel tank becomes fully depleted, the low-boost auxiliary fuel pump should be turned on while changing fuel tanks; however, the auxiliary fuel pump should be turned off once engine restarts. Additionally, the flight manual supplement cautions that operating with the high-boost auxiliary fuel pump turned on, with a functioning engine-driven fuel pump, can produce an over-rich fuel mixture and a partial or total loss of engine power.

NTSB Identification: CEN16LA11514 CFR Part 91: General AviationAccident occurred Saturday, February 27, 2016 in Seymour, INAircraft: BEECH V35, registration: N2714TInjuries: 3 Uninjured.This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.On February 27, 2016, about 1125 eastern standard time, a Beech model V35 single-engine airplane, N2714T, was substantially damaged during a forced landing on Interstate I65, near Seymour, Indiana. The private pilot and his two passengers were not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed for the personal flight that departed Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport (UMP), Indianapolis, Indiana, about 1045, with the intended destination of Bowman Field Airport (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky.The pilot reported that the airplane had departed with about 40 gallons of fuel for the planned 46 minute flight. He estimated that, before departure, the right and left main fuel tanks contained about 30 gallons and 10 gallons, respectively. Both outboard tip tanks only contained residual fuel. After departure, the flight continued toward the planned destination and received visual flight rules (VFR) flight following from air traffic control (ATC). The pilot reported that he switched from the right main fuel tank to the left main fuel tank after reaching the final cruise altitude of 5,500 feet mean sea level (msl). After drawing fuel from the left main fuel tank for about 10 minutes, he switched back to the right main fuel tank as he prepared for his initial descent to the destination airport.The pilot reported that the engine began to run roughly after operating on the right main fuel tank for about 3 minutes. He switched back to the left main fuel tank, increased the mixture control to full rich, and selected the high-boost fuel pump setting. The engine continued to run roughly with occasional power surges. Additionally, the pilot reported that the engine would occasionally backfire, which was followed by a corresponding surge in engine power. The pilot then selected the low-boost fuel pump setting and changed back to the right main fuel tank (which contained significantly more fuel than the left main fuel tank). He reported that engine operation briefly improved, over a 15-20 second period, before it resumed producing partial power with occasional power surges.Air traffic control initially provided radar vectors toward Freeman Municipal Airport (SER), located near Seymour, Indiana; however, the pilot subsequently determined that the airplane did not have enough altitude to reach the airport and made a forced landing to the southbound lanes of Interstate I65, near mile marker 42. He reported that the airplane touched-down at about 80 knots indicated airspeed with the flaps fully extended. Shortly after touchdown, the pilot had to maneuver the airplane to avoid vehicular traffic and it subsequently entered the grass median separating the northbound and southbound lanes. The pilot reported that the airplane's left wing impacted a grass embankment after the airplane traversed into the median. The pilot reported that, following the accident, he moved the fuel selector handle to the OFF position before he evacuated the airplane.The airplane was subsequently recovered from the interstate median to a hangar located at SER. A postaccident inspection of the airplane, completed by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airworthiness Inspector, revealed substantial damage to the left wing's aft spar. An operational engine test run was completed by the accident pilot under the direct supervision of the FAA inspector. The FAA inspector reported that the engine experienced a normal start and warm-up. No engine anomalies were noted during a pretakeoff engine run-up, which included a magneto functional check and cycling of the propeller. The accident pilot, who had manipulated the engine controls during the operational test run, indicated that the engine had run within its normal operating parameters. The only anomaly the pilot noted was a slight engine hesitation as he increased engine speed toward maximum static RPM; however, the engine subsequently demonstrated the ability to produce maximum static RPM. Additionally, while at a cruise engine power setting, there was no interruption to engine operation while the pilot alternated between the right and left main fuel tanks. To simulate an inadvertent fuel selector position during cruise flight, the fuel selector handle was placed between the right and left main fuel tank positions while the engine was operating at a typical cruise power setting. Normal engine operation continued for about 30 seconds before there was a noticeable loss of engine power and an associated engine backfire. The fuel selector was immediately repositioned to the right main fuel tank and normal engine operation was reestablished without any pilot manipulation of the engine controls and/or activation of the fuel boost pump. Ultimately, the operational test run did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the Continental model TSIO-520-DB7B engine.FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Indianapolis FSDO-11

JACKSON COUNTY, Ind. (February 27, 2016) – A pilot from Carmel made an emergency landing on I-65 in southeastern Indiana Saturday morning.The emergency landing happened near the 42 mile marker between Seymour and Crothersville, Indiana just after 11:30 a.m.The initial investigation determined that a Beech V35 Bonanza being piloted by Aaron Wright, 44, of Carmel, was flying from Carmel to Louisville, Kentucky when the plane began experiencing mechanical difficulty. Wright turned the plane around in an attempt to make it to the Seymour airport. Upon realizing the plane would not make it back to the airport, Wright attempted to land the plane on the southbound lanes of I-65.The plane made a successful landing before entering the median and coming to a stop. The plane sustained damage upon coming to stop in the median. Neither Wright nor his wife Jean Wright or thirteen-year-old son sustained any injuries in the incidentBoth directions of I-65 were slow for approximately three hours while the incident was investigated.Story, video and photo gallery: http://fox59.com

JACKSON COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — A small plane made an emergency landing on I-65 in Jackson County Saturday morning.The landing happened around 11:30 a.m. on I-65 between Seymour and Crothersville, according to Indiana State Police.ISP said a Beech V35 Bonanza flown by Aaron Y. Wright, 44, of Carmel had mechanical issues on its way from Carmel to Louisville, Kentucky.Wright attempted to fly to the Freeman Municipal Airport, but he realized the plane wouldn’t make it all the way.He managed to land on the southbound lanes of I-65 before the plane came to a stop in the median. Wright and his two passengers — his wife and 13-year-old son — were not injured. No one on the ground was hurt.The plane was damaged as it hit the media.I-65 was slow in the area for about three hours while authorities investigated. The northbound lanes were shut down for an hour as the plane was removed.Original article can be found here: http://wishtv.com

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Aviation experts are speaking out over repeated Allegiant Air safety concerns, Pinellas County's largest air carrier.Dozens of Allegiant Air flights have been involved in emergency landings or diversions in recent months, bringing accusations the airline is struggling to manage maintenance of its aircraft. Jim Brauchle, a former Air Force pilot and noted aviation attorney, says the kinds of problems Allegiant Air has faced are dangerous."It's an accident waiting to happen," Brauchle says.More than 25 incidents have been reported by several media outlets across the country since the beginning of 2015. The majority of them occurred at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater airport.The latest emergency happened on Thursday night. A plane heading toward Kansas City lost engine power and returned to the St. Petersburg-Clearwater airport.One of the most severe incident, experts say, was when pilots ran out of fuel and had to stop at a closed airport in North Dakota in July. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a written warning to the airline for that incident.A month earlier, a plane was involved in an emergency that pilots say could have been disastrous. The FAA says improper maintenance on a part by Allegiant's contractor led to the plane lifting from the ground prematurely. Allegiant's contractor was also sanctioned with a warning letter.Brauchle said the FAA needs to take more serious action.He explained the agency has a long history of being lenient with sanctions on airlines. He thinks it would take a tragic event before the FAA would take action further than written reprimands."I think, unfortunately it's gonna end up being a crash or where you get people that are seriously hurt or even killed," Brauchle said.In a statement from Allegiant Air, the airline defended its operations."Allegiant is a safe airline. We have robust internal and external auditing programs and have invested heavily in new training programs and technologies that are industry leading. Our day-to-day maintenance is performed by Allegiant's team of FAA certified maintenance technicians in accordance with the same regulations and standards as all US air carriers. The FAA is tasked with overseeing all passenger airlines in the US, ensuring that strict safety standards are met. Allegiant, like most commercial carriers, is in nearly daily contact with FAA representatives to share data and ensure the ongoing health of the fleet," the statement reads.The FAA is standing by its warnings, saying the airline and its maintenance contractor have made changes that satisfies the agency the same issue won't recur."The FAA investigates all airline precautionary and abnormal occurrences, and is looking into the recent Allegiant Air events. The FAA evaluates every event in the context of an airline's overall operations to determine whether an event or series of events could indicate a pattern or trend that we need to address," a spokesman wrote.Story and video: http://www.fox26houston.com

NTSB Identification: CEN16LA11914 CFR Part 91: General AviationAccident occurred Saturday, February 27, 2016 in Casey, ILProbable Cause Approval Date: 10/06/2016Aircraft: BEECH 95 C55, registration: N88FLInjuries: 2 Uninjured.NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.The pilot was conducting a cross-country flight in a multiengine airplane; he entered the pattern on the crosswind leg and set the mixture and power for landing and extended the flaps. He reported that the right engine “sputtered” while the airplane was abeam the runway threshold. The pilot immediately checked the power levers, pushed the mixture controls to full. As he turned onto the base leg of the traffic pattern, the right engine lost power. He further reported that, during the turn to the final leg of the traffic pattern, the left engine also sputtered, and then experienced a total loss of power. The pilot extended the flaps to the final setting, lowered the landing gear, and pushed the airplane’s nose over to “make the runway.” The pilot said that he “flared then bounced, floated and bounced again." The airplane ran off the paved surface, flew over a ditch and touched down in a plowed field where all three landing gear collapsed. Postaccident examination revealed that the airplane touched down on the 1,400-foot-long parallel taxiway, rather than the runway, and continued off the taxiway, where it came to rest. During recovery of the airplane from the accident site, 25 gallons of fuel was drained from each of the main fuel tanks. The airplane’s engines were run on a test stand at the manufacturer’s facility. Both engines exhibited normal operation through all power settings. No other system anomalies were found with the airplane. It is likely the pilot, distracted by the reported loss of power on both engines, mistook the parallel taxiway for the runway. On touching down, he quickly ran out of hard surface and pulled the airplane back into the air. He subsequently touched down beyond the perimeter road about taxiway into soft ground, collapsing the landing gear and resulting in the damage to the airplane’s forward fuselage and right wing.The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:The pilot's inadvertent landing on a taxiway after a reported loss of engine power in both engines, which resulted in an overrun of the paved surface. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined because a postaccident test run of the engines did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.On February 27, 2016 about 1030 Central Standard Time, a Beech 95-C55 airplane, N88FL, impacted in a field while attempting to land at the Casey Municipal Airport (1H8), Casey, Illinois. The pilot and passenger on board were not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to DBI Properties LLC and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross country flight that operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight originated from the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), Birmingham, Alabama, at 0720.The pilot reported having difficulty visually locating the airport and had to ask Air Traffic Control (ATC) for vectors to the airport twice. After finally locating the airport, the pilot reported that he entered that traffic pattern on the crosswind leg and extended his downwind leg because of the excessive speed. He set the mixture and throttle controls for landing and extended flaps to the approach setting abeam the threshold for runway 04. At that time the right engine "sputtered". The pilot immediately checked the throttle levers and advanced the mixtures to full forward. As he turned onto the base leg, the right engine lost power. The pilot continued the landing pattern making a turn onto final approach. As he was making the turn, the left engine "sputtered and then shut down." The pilot extended the flaps to the final setting, lowered the landing gear, and pushed the airplane's nose over to "make the runway." The pilot said that he "flared then bounced, floated and bounced again. I saw a ditch at the end of the runway so I flew over it and the [airport] perimeter road, touching down in a plowed field. The [landing] gear caught in the rough ground and all three struts collapsed."The Federal Aviation Administration conducted an on scene examination of the airport and the airplane. The taxiway that paralleled runway 04 showed tire marks that went off the taxiway into the adjacent field where the taxiway curved toward the runway. Two taxiway lights were found broken along what would have been the airplane's path. The tire marks ended and then were seen again in a plowed and muddy field just beyond the airport perimeter road. The tire marks continued for about 1,500 ft to where the airplane came to rest.An examination of the airplane showed the nose gear and right main landing gear collapsed. The left main gear was bent and broken outboard of the wheel well. The airplane's right wing spar was bent upward outboard of the aileron and the forward fuselage bulkheads at the nose wheel well showed upward crushing and bending. Both propellers were feathered and the propeller controls were in the feather position. When examined at the scene, there was no fuel in the left main tank or left auxiliary tank. The right main tank was full of fuel. The right auxiliary fuel tank was partially full, with a fuel level about an inch from the bottom of the tank. Both fuel selectors were on the respective left and right main fuel tanks positions. No anomalies were found with the airplane's systems at the scene. The engines were retained for later examination.On March 3, 2016, AMF Aviation, LLC, recovered the airplane from the accident scene. Prior to moving the airplane, 25 gallons of fuel (50 total gallons) was removed from each of the two main fuel tanks. The representative for AMF Aviation reported the fuel was clean 100 low lead.Casey Municipal Airport is located on the west-northwest side of the town of Casey, Illinois. The field elevation is 653 ft msl. Its principal runway is 04/22, which is 4,001 ft long by 75 ft wide. It is asphalt surfaced with medium intensity edge lighting. A taxiway parallels runway 04 to the north and begins about 2,700 ft from the approach end of the runway. The taxiway measures about 1,400 ft in length to where it curves to the right and proceeds perpendicularly to the runway. A 12-ft wide perimeter road is located 487 ft from the departure end of runway 04.At 0853, the reported weather conditions at Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO), Mattoon/Charleston, Illinois, 16 nm northwest of 1H8, were wind 180 at 10 knots, clear skies, visibility 9 statute miles temperature 34 degrees Fahrenheit (F), dew point 28 degrees F, and altimeter 30.09 inches of Mercury.Both engines were examined at Continental Motors, Incorporated, Mobile, Alabama, on June 13, 14, and 15, 2016. Each engine was mounted on a test stand, connected to fuel and electrical sources, started, and run for approximately 30 minutes. Both engines showed normal operation through all power settings.

DBI PROPERTIES LLC: http://registry.faa.gov/N88FLNTSB Identification: CEN16LA11914 CFR Part 91: General AviationAccident occurred Saturday, February 27, 2016 in Casey, ILAircraft: BEECH 95 C55, registration: N88FLInjuries: 2 Uninjured.This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.On February 27, 2016 about 0900 Central Standard Time, a Beech 95-C55, N88FL, impacted in a field while attempting to land at the Casey Municipal Airport (1H8), Casey, Illinois. The pilot and passenger on board were not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was register to a limited liability company and operated by the pilot as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross country flight that was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight originated at Birmingham, Alabama, at 0902.The pilot reported having difficulty visually locating the airport and had asked for Air Traffic Control (ATC) vectors to the airport twice. After finally locating the airport, the pilot reported that he extended his downwind leg because of the excessive speed. While the airplane was on base leg to land, one of the engines began to lose power, which was followed by the other engine losing power after the turn to final approach. The pilot touched down and bounced twice before going off the end of a taxiway that paralleled the runway. The airplane's landing gear collapsed and the airplane slid in a muddy field about 1,500 feet before coming to a stop.An on scene examination conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration showed both propellers feathered and the propeller controls in the feather position. There was no fuel in the left main tank or left auxiliary tank. The right main tank was completely full. The right auxiliary fuel tank was partially full, with a fuel level about an inch from the bottom of the tank. The fuel selectors were both on the main fuel tanks. The airplane's right wing spar was bent upward outboard of the engine nacelle and the forward fuselage bulkheads at the nose wheel well showed upward crushing and bending.At 0853, the reported weather conditions at Coles County Municipal Airport, Mattoon/Charleston, Illinois, 16 nm northwest, were wind 180 at 10 knots, clear skies, visibility 9 statute miles temperature 1 degree Celsius (C), dew point -2 degrees C, and altimeter 30.09 inches of Mercury.FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Springfield FSDO-19

Casey, IL -- What started off as a normal Saturday morning for folks in Casey Illinois quickly changed. It was quite the shock to see a small propeller plane crash in a field

"I came out to do some work outside and my neighbor was outside and he pointed to the airplane over there," said Casey resident, Bill Farrell.

A twin engine aircraft was trying to land at the Casey Municipal Airport. When the engine failed, and the pilot had to make an emergency landing in a near by field.

"Saw that plane and I told my wife there's a plane crashed out there. I seen the Fire Department, the Firemen going across the field toward the plane, and I seen the pilot had got out and were out meeting him," said Casey resident, Stephen Martin.

According to authorities there were no injuries. Neighbors in the vicinity of the crash, say this incident brought up emotions from the past.

"That's only the second plane crash since I've lived here," said Martin.

Stephen Martin is talking about a crash that happened in August 2015. Farmer David Goodwin died in a crash that happened after he flew his Cessna Plane out of Casey Municipal Airport.

This time, the pilot was seen uninjured and walked away from the crash.

"I looked at the planes condition, and I can tell that he brought it down pretty good, I thought, and I didn't hear an engine or anything so I imagine the engine died on him or something. But the way the plane was sitting. I knew he got of the plane okay," said Martin. Story and photo: http://www.mywabashvalley.com

The amount of airport noise complaints and the number of people making complaints went down in 2015 as compared to 2014, according to the airport's annual report.

The noise complaint log has been a source of contention for years as resident group Citizens for Quiet Skies took Mile-Hi to court, claiming the skydiving company's planes are too noisy and fly too frequently.

A slightly larger portion of the 2015 noise complaints, however, pertained to skydiving operations than in 2014. In 2014, complaints about Mile-Hi Skydiving made up roughly 90 percent of the total noise complaints. In 2015, complaints about skydiving made up roughly 93 percent of the total noise complaints.

But there are several factors complicating the comparison between the years, namely the city changed the process by which it receives feedback — airport noise complaints included.

In the old system, complaints were entered into a spreadsheet from phone calls, the city's online feedback system, emails and voicemails. If a resident complained about airport noise to a city staffmember or to a city councilmember, it was only recorded on the noise complaint spreadsheet if that email or voicemail was forwarded on to the airport manager, Airport Manager David Slayter said.

"The old system also experienced a few issues such as human error where an email may have been missed, or during personnel transition, email or voicemail complaints did not get transferred," Slayter said via email. "Because there is also the possibility of equipment failures, we decided it was better to have a single collection process that maintained system integrity, transparency and mitigated or eliminated human error."

Under the new system, implemented midway through 2015, people who want to give feedback to the city must create a login through the online Service Request System. A first name and email is required, but users can leave last name, phone number and address out, Slayter said. Complaints can still be made anonymously.

"The online complaint policy is the official collection point, so if a call or email is made or sent to a council member, it is not officially logged into the system," Slayter said. "I have noticed that there are times that there will be a complaint filed online but the same information is emailed to the mayor, council and staff as well."

Additionally, complaints must be at least 20 minutes apart to be considered separate complaints.

Kimberly Gibbs, who leads the group Citizens for Quiet Skies, theorized that the complaint process change is one of the major reasons for the decreased complaints and the slightly higher percentage of complaints about skydiving noise.

"I know a lot of people who would send an email to council but do not do that process," Gibbs said, adding that people annoyed with skydiving may be more motivated than others to get through the process.

Additionally, Gibbs said, the loss of the Citizens for Quiet Skies lawsuit and the arguments around the 2014 noise complaint log in 2015 could have discouraged people from complaining.

In February 2015, an unofficial analysis of the 2014 complaint log sparked several heated discussions in board and City Council meetings. The analysis by airport board Chairman Don Dolce labeled a group of complainers as statistically "invalid" because of their involvement with the lawsuit, because they complained very frequently or both. City staff eventually scrubbed the analysis from the final report.

Airport proponents continue to point out in airport advisory board and City Council meetings that a large portion of the complaints are still made by a very small number of people. In 2014, 52 percent of the complaints were made by one person and another 28 percent of the complaints were made by nine other people. In 2015, 27 percent of the complaints were made by one person and another 33 percent of complaints were made by four other people.

The city's new feedback system does offer a new data point into the airport complaint discussion — compliments. After the new system was implemented, the airport received 15 positive comments, Slayter told the airport advisory board in January.

"With the new system only having been in place for half the year; and the positive comment category being new, the number of positive comments is anticipated to see an increase in 2016," Slayter wrote.

NTSB Identification: ERA16LA116 14 CFR Part 91: General AviationAccident occurred Saturday, February 27, 2016 in Gettysburg, PAAircraft: CESSNA 150L, registration: N976HBInjuries: 1 Uninjured.This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.On February 27, 2016, about 1215 eastern standard time, a Cessna 150L, N976HB, owned and operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged during a forced landing into trees, following a partial loss of engine power during initial climb after takeoff from Gettysburg Regional Airport (W05), Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The private pilot was not injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the planned flight to Clearview Airpark (2W2), Westminster, Maryland.The pilot stated that he departed runway 24 with 7 gallons of fuel. During initial climb, about 750 feet above ground level, the engine rpm decreased to 1,700. The pilot applied carburetor heat, but the engine rpm remained at 1,700 and he was unable to maintain altitude. He then turned back toward the airport and realized that the airplane was not going to reach the runway. The pilot subsequently attempted to land in a field prior to the runway, but the airplane impacted, and came to rest, in trees just prior to the field.The recorded weather at an airport located about 15 mile east of the accident site, at 1153, included wind variable at 6 knots, visibility 10 miles, few clouds at 4,600 feet, and temperature 3 degrees C.The wreckage was retained for further examination.

FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Harrisburg FSDO-13

The pilot of a crashed plane is hoisted to safety after his plane crashed into trees and was suspended in the air at Gettysburg Regional Airport on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Crews responded to the scene of a plane crash near Gettysburg Regional Airport Saturday afternoon.
The pilot, an 87-year-old local man, was not injured, said Gettysburg Fire Department Chief Hurshel Shank.The man -- whose name has not yet been released -- took off from the runway but had engine failure, Cumberland Township Police Chief Don Boehs said. He attempted to make a U-turn when he crashed into trees near the runway, he said.The plane landed nose down about 50 feet off the ground, Shank said. The man called police after the crash with a cell phone he was carrying, Boehs said.The pilot was attempting to fly from Gettysburg to Clearview Airpark in Westminster, Maryland to get more fuel for the plane, Boehs said.The single-engine plane faced nose-down for about four hours while rescue officials figured out how to free the pilot, Shank said. The plane was in a stable setting and the pilot was alert, so there was no rush to get him out, he said."He was in very good spirits the whole time there," he said. "He was conscious, alert and oriented the whole incident, which lasted almost four hours. I think by the end, he was a little anxious to get out, as we all were to get him out of the situation he was in."Police, who arrived on scene around 12:30 p.m., originally thought they would use a Maryland State Police helicopter to fly above the plane and send a man down with a cable to get the pilot out, Shank said. However, the wind from the helicopter could have made the plane too unstable, so they decided otherwise, he said.Frederick County Advanced Technical Rescue, assisted by crews in York and Adams counties, used ladders to climb from the ground to the plane, Shank said. After cutting branches from around the plane down, rescue workers put the man in a sling and lowered him to the ground, he said.Emergency medical services were evaluating the man and planned to transfer him to Gettysburg Hospital as a precautionary measure, Boehs said. He suffered a hand injury, he said.The Federal Aviation Administration and local Civil Air Patrol units will investigate the scene and determine how to get the plane down, Shank said.Officials from Gettysburg Regional Airport were not immediately available to comment.In what's turned out to be a busy week in Adams County, with fatal fires in Littlestown and Cumberland Township, spirits from officers are still good, Boehs said."The officers are doing well," he said. "We have a very good working relationship with the fire companies and ambulance rescue crews around the area."Original article can be found here: http://www.eveningsun.com

EMS workers talk to the rescued pilot of a crashed plane after his plane crashed into trees and was suspended in the air at Gettysburg Regional Airport on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The pilot was rescued safely after several hours of rescue operations.

Gettysburg Fire Chief Hurshel Shank gives an update to members of the media after the safe rescue of a pilot from his crashed plane after the plane crashed into trees and was suspended 50 feet in the air.

A Maryland State Police helicopter takes off in front of a crashed plane after the plane crashed into trees and was suspended in the air at Gettysburg Regional Airport on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The helicopter was planned to be used to hoist the trapped pilot out of the plane, but the plan was scrapped after it was determined that high winds from the helicopter's rotor wash could knock the plane out of the trees.

Spring Grove firefighters put away ladders after a rescue of a pilot trapped inside his plane after his plane crashed into trees and was suspended 50 feet in the air at Gettysburg Regional Airport on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania